


Lazarus

by bansheequeen (queenbanshee), xtremeroswellian



Series: Moving Targets [3]
Category: Smallville
Genre: Bickering, F/M, Idiots in Love, Mutual Pining, UST
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:47:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24220801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbanshee/pseuds/bansheequeen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: Dealing with Kandorians, Kryptonian intelligence and the meteor infected might not seem nearly as big of a challenge when the team learns that one of the most dangerous humans is back from the dead and looking for them. To make matters worse, it looks like he’s not alone.
Relationships: Oliver Queen/Chloe Sullivan
Series: Moving Targets [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1748179
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Watchtower, Metropolis -- September 30, 2010**

His face was half-buried under a pillow when a shrill sound pulled him from his restless slumber. He'd spent most of the previous night patrolling the streets of Metropolis, and hadn't gotten back to Watchtower until nearly 5 a.m. At that pointed, he hadn't even bothered changing out of his uniform. He'd simply collapsed on the sofa and passed out. He groaned when the shrill noise sounded again and it took him a moment to realize it was his phone. He reached out to the table, picking it up without opening his eyes. He pressed it to his ear. "'llo?"

"Oliver." The voice on the other side was quiet, almost a whisper.

His eyebrows furrowed a little and he paused. "Yes?" The voice was almost too quiet to be understood.

"Oliver, it's Tess." She said a little more firmly.

Now he was wide awake. "Excuse me?" His voice was filled with shock.

"I'm-- alive." She told him, taking a deep breath, "and in Smallville somehow."

Oliver sat up all the way, his heart beginning to pound quickly in his chest. "Where in Smallville?" After learning that Lex was back from the great beyond, he'd decided to stop asking the how's and why's.

"At the mansion."

He rubbed a hand over his face. "Do you have any idea how you got there?"

"No," Tess' jaw tightened and she eyed the man in front of her.

"Are you all right?" he asked uncertainly.

"Just fine." She told him, "thought you'd like to know."

His head was spinning with the realization that he was actually _talking_ to Tess Mercer. "Yeah, of course. Look, I'm in Metropolis, why don't I drive to Smallville?"

"Want to see it for yourself?"

"Something like that," he admitted, raking a hand through his hair and rising to his feet.

"I suppose we should discuss my employment status when you're here. When are you coming?" She asked, her voice void of emotions.

"I'll be there in a few hours," Oliver told her. "Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm fine." She said shortly, "I'll see you then."

Oliver slowly pulled the phone away from his ear and stared down at it for a moment before closing it, a dazed expression on his face.

Chloe had also been awake until Oliver got back, she had been online, watching him and making sure he wasn't hurt until she saw him landing on the rooftop of the Watchtower. Once he did, she signed off and made her way upstairs, where she had been sleeping in the fold out couch since right after Oliver left for Star City a few months ago.

But she had been woken when his phone rang and although she couldn't make sense of the words, he sounded tense, so after brushing her teeth and making sure she looked presentable, she made her way down the stairs.

He was still standing in the middle of the floor when she reached the bottom stair. He slowly looked over at her. "Tess is alive."

She stilled and raised her eyebrows at him, "what? How?"

"I have no idea. She said she's in Smallville." He raked a hand through his hair, setting his phone down on the table and heading toward the stairs. "You mind if I use your shower?"

"No, go ahead," she told him, taking a deep breath and watching him closely.

"Thanks," he said quietly, offering her a small smile before heading up the stairs two at a time.

Chloe glanced up to watch him then blinked, looking around for a moment then walking over to the coffee maker and starting to make coffee. She was going to need it.

* * *

A half hour later, Oliver made his way back down the stairs, his hair still damp from the shower. He was in normal clothes now--a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, and he'd shaved away his 5 o'clock shadow. "You know, our lives must be really weird considering we live in a world where people come back from the dead on a semi-regular basis and we're not even that shocked about it."

"Three times in less than six months, it can't be a coincidence," she was fully awake now and well on her way to her third mug of coffee, standing in front of the main tower and glancing over her shoulder to look at him, "are you going somewhere?"

He paused at the question. "Yeah. I'm heading to Smallville," he admitted, not quite meeting her eyes.

"Oh," she raised her eyebrows, she shouldn't have been surprised, but she was, and suddenly there was something tugging at her, but she was ignoring it, "are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" He turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow back at her.

"Don't you think it's a little too big of a coincidence that Lex is back and suddenly, so is Tess?" She raised her eyebrows and turned to face him, pursing her lips together.

Oliver considered that for a moment. "All the more reason to see her," he reasoned.

"Unless this is a trap to lure you in and Lex will be the one waiting for you when you get there," she pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest.

He gave her a look. "You really think Tess is going to work for Lex again after what he did to her the first time?"

"I don't know, Oliver, I mean it's not like the woman joined forces with an alien dictator, or you know, was a member of the government agency that nearly got _both_ of us killed." She pointed out, her words dripping in sarcasm as she spoke.

Oliver rolled his eyes, moving past her. "She also turned her back on both of them, remember?" he pointed out. "Which actually got her killed."

"Yet, somehow, she's back and at the same time that we have a mysterious informant feeding us tips that leads us to find out Lex Luthor is alive," she raised her eyebrows at him and turned to look in his direction even as he moved past her, "you can't tell me you're naive enough to think all those things are just coincidences and that they are not connected somehow."

"You think Mercy's our anonymous informant?" He cocked his head to the side, thinking about that.

"I don't know," she raised her eyebrows, "but if she's breathing, she could be, she knows our identities and she knows how to hide herself." Chloe pointed out.

Oliver nodded a little, leaning against the counter for a moment. "And she hates Lex," he mused. "You're right. It could be her."

Chloe almost groaned. Almost. She didn't manage to suppress the eyeroll, however, " _or_ and I think this would be the more in character option here, Lex is offering her power or whatever the hell she wants and she's working for him and feeding us information."

"No." He shook his head a little. "You don't know her like I do." 

And there was that thing tugging at her again, harder this time, and she was trying to ignore it, but she knew exactly what it was. Of course, she had no reason to be jealous of Oliver. There was nothing between them, "no, _clearly_ I don't." She told him, her jaw tightening and she turned to face the computer once more.

Oliver watched her for a moment, trying to read the expression on her face. "All right. I'll see you when I get back." He headed for the exit.

"Make sure you tell her I said hi," Chloe said without looking away from the screen. Her jaw was still tight but she managed to inject some fake sweetness into her voice.

He paused at that, then turned to look at her again, seeing right through the fake effort. "What is it you'd like me to do, Chloe?"

"Oh, I don't know," she turned to look at him, "how about trying to be _smart_ about it?"

His eyes narrowed. "Tess wouldn't intentionally hurt me," he informed her, a slight edge to his voice.

The way he was defending the other woman only made Chloe's stomach hurt more and the sarcasm level to grow. She wanted to shake him, try to get some sense through that thick head of his, but apparently, he trusted Tess far too much to even listen to her. "You mean she didn't _intentionally_ throw a knife at you that one time? Did it just slip from her hand?"

Oliver rolled his eyes at her. "You mean like Clark didn't _intentionally_ shove you across the room when he disagreed with what you had to say?" he shot back.

Chloe paused and raised her eyebrows, smirking, "is that really your best come back to that?" Her smirk slipped a moment later, "Clark isn't _here_ , Oliver, and he has absolutely nothing to do with any of this."

 _The hell he doesn't,_ Oliver thought, shaking his head a little. "It's about as relevant as Tess throwing a knife at me," he responded, folding his arms across his chest.

"Fine, whatever Oliver, just go." She said with a roll of her eyes and turned away from him again, "I hope you don't get shot in the head the second you walk in." She said sharply, and the thought actually made her chest tight.

He missed the look on her face as she spoke, as he turned away. "Yeah, I'm sure you'd rather have that duty yourself," he said under his breath, heading out the door.

* * *

**Watchtower, Metropolis -- September 19, 2010**

After Chloe showered, was clean, and dried, and after she had allowed herself to feel everything she had to feel, she made her way out of the bathroom and toward the stairs. Taking a deep breath, she looked toward the bottom floor, not really expecting him to be there anymore. She figured she had scared him away enough.

But there he was, sitting on the sofa, his eyes closed as he leaned back against the cushions, a weary expression on his face. At the sound of her footsteps, he quickly sat up straight, opening his eyes again.

Her eyes widened slightly when she saw him there and her heart started beating faster, "you can use the shower if you want to," she said quietly, breaking the still silence she had come to associate with the Watchtower.

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "Thanks," he said quietly.

Pursing her lips together, she walked closer to the couch but kept her distance from him, "and... I'm sorry. I know I've been snappy lately and I guess it's just, everything that is going on, plus the lack of sleep, but I shouldn't take it out on you."

Oliver rubbed a hand over his face. "Yeah, well...it's not like I've been nice to you either." He looked down at the floor.

"Let's just forget about it and try to focus on our mission instead," she suggested quietly, "us arguing isn't going to help anything."

He looked up at her and nodded a little. "Fair enough," he agreed just as quietly, hesitantly holding his hand out to her to shake. "Truce?"

She watched him for a moment then stepped closer, holding his gaze as she took his hand, her heart beating even faster but she just nodded a little, "truce."

Oliver offered her a small smile, shaking her hand and swallowing hard. "Good," he said quietly. "Maybe uh--maybe when I'm done in the shower we could order something for dinner before we get back to work."

Chloe gave him a small smile too and nodded, "yeah, I can order in a little bit so it will be here when you're done," she suggested.

"Sounds good," he said softly, giving her hand a squeeze before releasing it. "I'll be done soon." He drew in a breath and headed for the stairs.

"Take your time," she told him quietly, ignoring the loss she felt when he let go of her hand.

Oliver paused as he reached the staircase, then turned to look at her. "Chloe?"

"Yeah?" She turned to face him raising her eyebrows.

"That stuff I said earlier, about leaving you behind in the van and...that comment about Clark?" He shook his head a little. "I'm sorry."

She just shook her head at him, smiling a little more this time, "truce, remember? Forget about it, I said some... nasty things too."

He held her gaze for a moment, a small smile dimpling his cheek. "Good," he said softly, nodding. "I'll be back." He winked at her without thinking anything about it, then turned and headed up the stairs.

Her heart skipped a beat when he winked at her, but she didn't say anything, just watched him make his way up the stairs then headed to go find the phone, she knew which his favorite restaurant was, so she was going to order from there, and she was relieved to have some more time to pull herself together before they sat down to eat.


	2. Chapter 2

**Luthor Mansion, Smallville -- September 30, 2010**

Oliver sat in his car in the driveway of the Luthor Mansion for nearly twenty minutes, debating in his mind about whether or not to actually go inside. Maybe Chloe was right. For all he knew, this was some kind of elaborate trap designed to kill him and get to the rest of his team. He raked a hand through his hair, sitting back in his seat for a long moment and blowing out a breath.

Tess was _alive_.

But so was Lex. And at one time, Tess had quite happily been his second in command. But things had changed. Lex had betrayed her trust--even more so than Oliver had--and he knew Tess Mercer didn't take betrayal lightly.

Shaking his head a little, he turned off his car and climbed out of it, heading toward the front door, which was being guarded heavily by security. They didn't attempt to stop his progress, however, and he nodded at them slightly as he moved past them and into the mansion.

He wasn't surprised to find her sitting in the study, behind the desk. She looked exactly the same as she had when he'd last seen her, which _did_ surprise him. He'd been told that half her face had been badly burnt.

"Apparently when one comes back from the dead they return better than when they died," he said, his voice quiet, intent.

Tess looked up from her computer and raised an eyebrow, the hint of a smirk on her face, "I was as surprised as you are."

Oliver stepped into the study, glancing around and then back at her, studying her intently. "So you have no idea how this happened?"

"Oh I know how, I just don't know how I ended up in Smallville," Tess told him, raising one eyebrow and standing up to walk over to the bar.

"All right, I'll bite. Wanna fill me in?" He leaned against the desk, though he kept his eyes on her.

"You'll want a drink for this, and you should sit down." Tess told him, turning her back to him and pouring two glasses of whiskey.

He was silent for a moment, but he moved over to the sofa. "I think I can probably guess." Oliver raised an eyebrow. "Somehow Lex Luthor brought you back."

Tess stilled and turned around, a single eyebrow perfectly raised as she stared at Oliver.

He fought to keep amusement off his face. "We figured it out a couple weeks ago," he informed her.

"I guess you and your team aren't _completely_ useless after all," and because she could see the amusement on his face, she left the glass she had poured him at the bar and only brought her own as she moved to sit on one of the arm chairs by the couch.

Oliver arched an eyebrow at that comment. "Apparently not, but I think you already knew that, didn't you?" He gazed at her intently.

"I knew about Clark," she smirked and sat back against her seat, taking a long sip, "how is he, by the way?"

All traces of amusement left his expression. "He's fine, I assume."

"You assume?" Tess cocked her head again, the fact that Oliver no longer looked amusing just fueling her up to continue on that particular subject.

"He's on a little trip," he responded evenly. "But I didn't come here to discuss Clark Kent." 

"And here I thought we could have polite conversation about our... common acquaintances, how is Chloe, by the way?" She asked with feign curiosity.

Oliver rolled his eyes. "She's just fine, and she sends her regards." He resisted the urge to add, _she'd have come herself except she hates you._

It was Tess' turn to be amused, but she was discreet about it and made a half-hearted attempt to hide her smirk behind her glass.

He shook his head at her smirk, wondering if the women in his life were intentionally attempting to drive him crazy. "I'll give her yours, too, of course," he said wryly, giving her a knowing look in response.

"I'm sure you will," she told him, but didn't offer him any information about what he really wanted to know.

He studied her. "So Lex brought you back. You know that'll come with a price."

Tess paused at that, "so quick to assume, Oliver. You never really changed, have you?"

Oliver raised an eyebrow at her. "You do recall we're talking about the same man who turned you into his own personal walking talking spyware system, right?"

The only visible reaction to his words was a slight tension in her jaw, but nothing else, "my memory is perfectly fine. Thank you for asking."

"You surprise me," he informed her, even though he noticed her tension. "Then again, you always have." He rose to his feet. 

She watched him in silence for a long moment, "I'm aware of what Lex is capable of, Oliver, I don't need your warnings."

Oliver gazed down at her intently. "And we don't need yours," he said quietly, searching her eyes.

Tess cocked her head slightly at that and stared up at him.

"For what it's worth...I'm glad you're alive. And all right," he informed her before heading toward the study doors.

She stood up when she realized he was about to leave, "I suppose you already have all the important information I could potentially give you."

He turned to look at her, his expression neutral. "And what information is that?"

"That Lex is back," she told him, stepping forward, "and I'm sure he won't be away for long."

Oliver watched her intently. "I figured that much."

"That's all I can tell you," she told him, sipping again on her drink, but keeping her eyes on him.

He shrugged a little. "So basically you have no real information that I didn't already know," he told her.

"No, apparently, I didn't." She said dryly then paused, "be careful, Oliver."

"You too, Mercy." He studied her for a moment, then turned and headed out the door, his expression remaining neutral until he got behind the wheel of his car moments later. Then he frowned, trying to ignore the knot that had twisted in his stomach.

* * *

**Watchtower, Metropolis -- September 30, 2010**

Chloe sat back against the seat and nodded, raising her eyebrows as she looked up at the screen, "I will definitely let you know, I just," she paused, "despite what Oliver seems to think, I don't trust her and I don't think we should be letting our guard down as far as she is concerned."

"I'm with you all the way on that one, Watchtower," AC responded, a deep frown furrowing his brow. "Sounds like Ollie's in over his head."

"I think," she hesitated, "maybe he needs to get over the shock that she's back."

"Hopefully that's all it is," he agreed with a nod.

"Hopefully," she sighed deeply and ran her fingers through her hair, "how are things in California?"

"They're going all right. The kid _hates_ all forms of science, and somehow I've been elected to be the homework helper." He rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

Chloe couldn't help but smile a little at that. During her stay in Star City, she hadn't really talked to Mia much except for group situations and while she felt like the girl was warming up to her slightly with time, she didn't want to push it, "how is that working out for you?"

"Dude." AC shook his head. "Don't ask. I had to bribe her to do her homework by promising twice our normal workout routine," he said in exasperation.

Oliver caught AC's words as he was coming into the room and a grin spread across his face. "That's my girl."

Chloe stilled and turned around to look at Oliver, eying him for a second then turning to look at AC again, "I guess I won't be calling for help after all."

His smile faded somewhat, his jaw tensing instead as he moved over to stand in front of the screen. "As you can see for yourself, I _wasn't_ shot in the head the second I walked in," he said evenly, glancing from Chloe to AC. "How's Mia doing other than hating school?"

"Other than that? She's good." AC shifted slightly, obviously uncomfortable as he shifted in the chair he was sitting in.

Chloe chose to keep her eyes on AC and to ignore Oliver's words for the time being, she didn't want for them to go another round in front of AC.

"That's good. Let her know I'll give her a call later, after school's out for the day." He folded his arms across his chest.

"Will do." He nodded, then paused, a small smile tugging at his mouth. "I think this is my cue to go. Dinah's fixing lunch." He lifted his hand in a wave.

Raising her eyebrows, Chloe watched him for a moment then nodded a little, "have fun," she told him, smiling softly.

"You too." He raised his eyebrows in return. "Watchtower, Arrow." He nodded at them, and then vanished from the screen.

Chloe ended the connection and leaned back against her chair, looking up at Oliver.

Oliver met her eyes for a moment, his jaw tense, though he remained silent.

She turned in her chair and looked up at him with arched eyebrows, "was there any important, work-related information that you should share or are you planning on just standing there and glaring at me for the rest of the day?"

"Actually, I kind of thought I'd go out for lunch instead of having another pointless argument with you," he responded flatly.

"You're the one who came in with an attitude," she said just as flatly.

"Gee. I wonder why," Oliver retorted, shaking his head and turning to walk away.

Chloe stood up, looking at him, "then why don't you tell me Oliver, because for once, I have no idea what you're pissy about."

"You're kidding me, right?" He turned to face her, his jaw tightening. He pointed to the screen. "I get that you don't trust or like Tess, believe me. I don't _trust_ her either. But it'd be nice if on occasion you'd be willing to trust _my_ judgement."

"The team should be updated on what is going on," she told him, not bothering to raise her voice and kept the same blank, almost unimpressed look on her face, "and that is called having a back up plan, because no, I don't trust your judgment when it comes to her."

"Well, that's great. Thank you for planting _your_ seeds of doubt with the rest of the team. I appreciate it." He turned away and headed for the door.

"That's _exactly_ what I was trying to do," now she was actually glaring at him, her jaw tight, "it had nothing to do with making sure you would have back up if you needed and all with turning the team on you."

"Well, why not? _You_ have," he retorted, continuing to head away.

Chloe paused and stared at him, it was all she could do for a moment, "if that's what you think, why don't you go ahead and stay with Tess instead? Apparently, you trust her more than you trust me. Wouldn't want to chance it, would you? I might kill you in your sleep, or worse, maybe I will just steal the team from you so that I can be their leader."

 _That_ made him turn around. "What part of 'I don't trust her, either' did you miss here, Chloe?" He shook his head. "And this isn't about me not trusting you. I've trusted you all along. I've trusted you _more_ than I've ever trusted _anyone_ , in fact, including Tess when the two of us were actually together." He walked a little closer to her. "I trusted you more than _Lois_."

"Then what the hell is _this_ about?" She demanded, stepping closer too, not at all intimidated by the fact that he towered over her, "if you trusted me, you would know that all I was trying to do was to make sure you had back up if you needed because I know my limits and I know I couldn't made it to Smallville in time to help you if you sent out an SOS or even if you just never showed up again! And if you don't trust her, why are you so willing to condemn me for having a back up plan? On top of that, if you really believe I've turned on you? _why the hell are you even here_ !?"

Oliver stared at her for a long moment, his gaze locked on hers and without warning, he reached out, placing his hands on her arms and kissed her before she could protest or he could even realize what he was doing.

Chloe's eyes widened and she gasped, but she was returning the kiss before she could do anything about it, she grabbed his arms in both her hands and squeezed them as hard as she could, she had had every intention of pushing him away, but it didn't work that way.

After a long moment, he pulled away, drawing in a shuddering breath and looking at her with a dazed expression. He swallowed hard, letting go of her wordlessly and backing away a step before he could change his mind, and pull her closer and start something that would lead to more than just kissing. "I'm sorry. I should...I think it'd be best if I stayed at the clock tower while we're here." He turned and headed for the door, swallowing hard.

All she could do was stare at him, watch him as he walked out of the door with wide eyes. She swallowed hard too and blinked, shaking her head slowly and trying to make sense of what the hell had just happened.


	3. Chapter 3

From: Emerald Archer

_Mercy said Lex brought her back. She told us to be careful._

CB: 415-555-7652  
September 30, 2010

* * *  
From: Sidekick

_...Oh? Did she say anything else?_

CB: 316-555-0164  
September 30, 2010

* * *

From: Emerald Archer

_She doesn't know how she got to Smallville._

CB: 415-555-7652  
September 30, 2010

* * * 

From: Sidekick

_I don't think we should discuss this over the phone._

CB: 316-555-0164  
September 30, 2010

* * *

From: Emerald Archer

_You're right. If you want to come over to discuss things in person, the code is the same to get in._

CB: 415-555-7652  
September 30, 2010  
* * *

From: Sidekick

_I'll be over soon._

CB: 316-555-0164  
September 30, 2010

* * *  
From: Emerald Archer

 _Okay. See you then._

CB: 415-555-7652  
September 30, 2010

* * *

**Clocktower, Metropolis -- October 1, 2010**

It was after midnight when Chloe finally made her way over to the clock tower. There was no one in the streets as she walked the block and half between the clocktower and the Watchtower. She didn't want to see him. The _last_ thing she wanted was to see him, but they had to discuss Tess and everything Oliver hadn't told her earlier if they wanted to have a shot at finding Lex before he found them.

She pressed in the code and swallowed hard. The last time she was there was after Oliver left the hospital, after Zod burned him. She had pretty much been living in the Clock tower then, it was where she was unless she had work to do, it was where they usually spent the night and it had become _their_ place. It was more comfortable and cozier than the Watchtower, probably because he was always there with her, she always woke up with his arm wrapped tightly around her whenever she spent the night.

With a deep breath, she pushed the door of the elevator open and stepped inside, "Oliver?"

His chest tightened at the sound of her voice and he took a sip of the whiskey in his hand, then set the glass down on the kitchen counter. He stepped out of the kitchen and looked at her from across the room. "Hey." His voice was quiet.

Pursing her lips together, she stepped further inside the penthouse, "I won't stay long," she told him quietly, "what else do you know?" She figured it was better to talk about what they had to as soon as she got in there, because she didn't want to talk about the fact that he had kissed her.

Oliver shook his head a little, not quite meeting her eyes. "Not much, really. But I wouldn't rule her out as being our mystery informant." He paused. "Your mystery informant." 

"Did she tell you _how_ Lex brought her back?" She asked curiously, doing her best to focus on Lex and Tess and the mission and nothing else.

He glanced at her. "No. But she was completely healed," he said quietly.

Chloe arched an eyebrow at that, "what about scars?" She asked, surprised.

"Not a mark," Oliver told her, leaning against the wall tiredly.

Narrowing her eyes, Chloe started pacing, which meant she was in thinking mode, "no scars, and there is no way she could have healed this quickly if she had had plastic surgery because from the files I read, one side of her face had been burned down, almost to the bone. That would take some amazing reconstruction surgery."

"And it would have left scars. There weren't _any_. However Lex managed to bring her back healed her completely." He watched her pace the floor.

"I will look into previous LuthorCorp experiments and see if there is anything that could be his inspiration project for this, we also need to consider the possibility that whatever Lex used to bring Tess back, he used to bring himself back too," she told him, pausing her pacing to turn to look at him.

Oliver didn't meet her eyes. "I'd say that's a good possibility."

She took a deep breath and watched him a brief moment then looked away, "I'll go see what I can find. I'll let you know if I stumble upon something interesting."

He exhales slowly, rubbing his hand over his eyes once more. "Chloe..."

"Don't," she stopped him, kicking herself by being so incredibly affected by the way he spoke her name, so heavily, so much guilt and so many things left unsaid behind it. But it was better that way, she didn't want to hear it. They had more important things to worry about, even if it still hurt more than she would ever admit that he felt like she didn't trust him. "Let's just focus on finding Lex."

"In case you haven't noticed, that hasn't been working out so smoothly," he said quietly, this time finally looking at her.

Chloe didn't hold his gaze, "I've noticed, but I don't know how to fix it and there is no point in talking about it until we figure that out."

"Maybe we have to talk about it to figure it out." His voice was still quiet. "We can't avoid it forever."

She considered his words for a moment and she knew he was right, but she took a step back anyway, because the thought of talking to him about _them_ scared her more than the fact that Lex was alive. Lex she could deal with, but all the feelings that overwhelmed and confused her when it came to Oliver, she had no idea what to do with those. "I'm not ready to."

Oliver closed his eyes. Honestly, he wasn't sure he was either. "Well, we have to do something. Because this isn't working."

Chloe kept her head down, because she could feel tears starting to make her eyes warm and her vision blurry, "I don't know what to do, and I don't know why this is happening," she didn't know what they were doing, other than hurting each other.

His chest tightened at the pained tone in her voice. He knew exactly why it was happening, but that wasn't something either of them wanted to talk about then either. "I don't either," he said quietly. "But I do know this." He looked up at her. "I don't want to lose you from the team because of it." Oliver paused. "I do trust you, Chloe."

"I'm not leaving the team," she told him quietly, then glanced up at him before quickly looking away again, "and I do trust you too, I don't want you to think otherwise. I just know it's not always easy to keep a neutral perspective when it comes to people we care about," and she knew it could lead to making all the wrong decisions.

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, nodding a little. "I know," he admitted quietly. "Maybe we should work on our communication skills in addition to trying to find Lex."

"Yeah, we should," she agreed in a whisper, even though she didn't have much hope for anything changing.

Oliver hesitated a moment, then slowly moved over to her, so he was standing in front of her. Then he slid his arms around her in a hug, closing his eyes.

Chloe stilled for a moment then wrapped her arms around him too, tears finally running down her cheek when she closed her eyes, "I don't want us to become what Clark and I were in the past year," she whispered so quietly, he wouldn't have heard her if he wasn't standing right next to her. She knew she pushed people away, she knew it was self-defense and self-preservation, what she didn't know was why, no matter how much she screwed things up with him and pushed him away from her, Oliver kept coming back.

He winced, tightening his arms around her more at that. "I don't want that either," he whispered back. His stomach knotted at the thought of becoming as distant from her as Clark had been. "I need you in my life." He swallowed hard. "I _want_ you in my life."

As much as she wanted to reply to him, she couldn't think of words, so she just wrapped her arms tighter around him, a silent sob breaking through her as she hid her face against his chest, she hoped it would be enough to let him know she needed and wanted him in her life too.

Oliver pressed a kiss to the top of her head, just holding her tighter in response and kicking himself for the harsh things that seemed to find their way out of his mouth lately.

A long moment later, Chloe shifted and reluctantly pulled back, lifting a hand to wipe her face, "I should go."

His eyes were sad as he looked at her. "Let me walk you back," he said very softly. "I know it's not far, but with Lex back..."

Chloe looked up at him, her eyes red from the crying and nodded slowly. The last thing she wanted was to get back to the empty Watchtower and stay there by herself, but maybe, if they spent less time together, things would get better.

He relaxed a little at her agreement. "Let me grab a coat," he said quietly, heading to the closet.

"Okay," she said quietly then took a deep breath, rubbing her face again. She really hoped they could work things out, she really didn't want to lose him too.

Oliver shrugged into his jacket and led her to the door, then paused. "Actually, would you rather just stay here tonight?" He glanced at her. "You can have the bed."

She paused and looked up at him, her eyes big. Sometimes, she felt like he could read her mind and she wanted to say yes, but she shook her head instead, "I think it might be better if I get back," she paused, "maybe if we don't spend so much time together for a while, things will be easier on us."

"All right," he said softly, nodding a little. "Then let's get going."

With a nod, she adjusted her purse over her shoulder and started back toward the elevator.

Oliver followed her into the elevator and glanced at her sideways. "We'll be okay," he said quietly.

Chloe looked up at him and held his gaze for a moment, she had to stop herself from asking him why he kept trying, why he kept working so hard to be around her. Instead, she took a deep breath and nodded a little as she stepped closer and linked her arm with his, "I hope so," she said in a whisper.

He smiled faintly. "And I have our next mission stopping place, if you're up for it."

She raised her eyebrows a little and looked up at him, "what is it?"

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "Gotham," he told her. "I got an invitation from Bruce Wayne to a gala he's throwing."

Cocking her head slightly, Chloe looked up at him as the elevator stopped. She let go of his arm so he could open the gate, "oh, you think we can find something there?"

He shrugged a little. "I don't know. But if nothing else, maybe we could meet Batman." He flashed her a grin as he opened the gate.

His grin made her heart skip a beat, she hadn't seen it in a while and she had almost forgotten how much it affected her. But the best part of it was that it meant he was comfortable, relaxed. It helped her relax. She smiled a little, "I suppose we could do some recruiting. And a Bruce Wayne gala, I'm sure there will be a lot of important people around, maybe we could ask some questions."

"Sounds like a good time to me. Minus the part where we have to talk to Bruce Wayne." His grin brightened a little.

"I'm not surprised you know him," she said with a raise of her eyebrow, "but you're not still bitter he beat you in the most eligible bachelor list again, are you?"

"It's an overrated list," he told her, meeting her eyes for a moment. "Besides. Even _my_ ego isn't as big as Bruce's."

Chloe ignored his first comment and smirked slightly at the second, "are the articles about him true?"

"Which, specifically?" he asked her, guiding her out of the elevator and then into the parking lot.

She shrugged a little, "I can't think of any right now... but they make him out to be this unbelievably egotistical, self-important individual, and while I know a lot of the articles say similar things about you, Bruce Wayne's articles seem too over the top to be made up, if that makes sense..."

A smile tugged at his lips. "We went to Excelsior together," he told her with a slight shrug. "He really wasn't _that_ bad, but that was a long time ago. I do know that he burned his own mansion down."

"Oh, I knew that was true," she told him, "but do you think he really did it? Or was he covering something up?"

Oliver cocked his head to the side, considering that. "Knowing Bruce? Probably both."

Chloe considered his answer too and nodded a little, giving it some thought then shrugging, "I guess I will see for myself, were you two friends when you were in school?"

"More like...close acquaintances." He paused. "He was a year older than me." 

"Oh," she nodded a little, "okay," she agreed, thinking about it. But also thinking about the fact that it was so easy to talk about things that didn't really matter with him, that as long as they didn't talk about themselves, or things they were passionate about, they should be okay. And of course, not talking about those things was going to be hard, but if things got out of hand, maybe she could make a conscious effort to drop the subject for the time being.

Oliver glanced at her sideways as they walked toward Watchtower. He wondered how long they would be able to keep the act up this time--how long they'd be able to pretend they were just friends and co-workers, talking about nothing in particular, talking about nothing that really _mattered_.

Somehow, he didn't think it would last very long.


End file.
